At long last.

After 26 seasons, 587 races, 52 race wins, and six national runner-up finishes, Doug Kalitta has ascended to the pinnacle of NHRA Top Fuel racing as a world champion.

Returning to the racetrack where he made his Top Fuel debut in February 1998, Kalitta’s journey reached its zenith at the In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip.

In a race destined to be etched in NHRA lore for generations, Kalitta emerged victorious in a winner-takes-all showdown against Leah Pruett. The triumph not only secured his first championship, but also solidified his place in the annals of drag racing history.

“It is incredible the way the points worked out to come down to that last run,” Kalitta said. “Obviously it was a big round for us and I just stayed focused and it played out perfectly. Unfortunately, I missed the win light because I have my visor taped up because of the sun, but everybody was down there [to celebrate]. It is something I have been looking forward to my whole life.”

Coming into the final day of the NHRA season second in the standings, Kalitta needed a few breaks to go his way to have a shot at the title. And he got that break in the semifinal round when Pruett defeated points leader Steve Torrence to create an all-or-nothing race for both the Wally and the 2023 NHRA Top Fuel championship.

In a culmination of a life’s work in the sport, Kalitta got away first and steadily pulled away to lead wire-to-wire over Pruett to earn a much-deserved championship nearly three decades in the making. Kalitta covered the 1,000-foot course in 3.673 seconds at 334.98 mph behind the wheel of his Mac Tools dragster in the triumph.

 

 

 

Pruett did all she could in trying to earn her first championship in the sport, but this was Kalitta’s day. Pruett had a respectable 3.720 at 326.16 mph in finishing runner-up in the Direct Connection Dodge SRT machine. She just missed out on a nitro double-up for the championship as her Tony Stewart Racing teammate Matt Hagan won the Funny Car title earlier in the day.

Pruett “is doing a hell of a job driving that thing, and with Matt Hagan winning in Funny Car and the team trying to double-up, there was a lot going on over in that camp,” Kalitta said. “Going up there without lane choice I really didn’t think that was going to be much of an issue and it wasn’t. It was a hell of a drag race and it was nice to get the win.”

Kalitta had finished runner-up in the class an astonishing six times prior to this season -- in 2003-04, 2006, 2016, 2019-20 -- leaving the Kalitta Motorsports driver wondering if this moment would ever come. After the race, he reflected on those doubts and what it meant to overcome them this weekend.

“You look at all of those close races and anytime that happens, you just have to go back and work harder at it,” Kalitta said. “At the end of that run, I was just so relieved. It was such a big relief because I’ve been trying to win this thing for years and it’s just really hard to believe [we won]. I am speechless at the moment.

“I’ve never really doubted my ability to work with these guys. I know they always have my back, so that was definitely huge for me the last couple of years. It’s definitely going to take a little bit for this to settle in. We’ve had a lot of people coming by showing their appreciation and wishing me good luck. It’s incredible the fan support I have here with this win.”

Kalitta began the day from fifth on the ladder, as all three championship contenders qualified in the top half of the field. After relatively smooth opening round wins over Dan Mercier and Josh Hart -- recording laps of 3.706 and 3.733 in the early round triumphs -- Kalitta emerged in a semifinal round that saw four championship contenders still alive.

 

 

 

Kalitta advanced first from the quartet, driving around the season’s winningest driver Justin Ashley with a 3.723 at 332.18 to Ashley’s 3.801 at 315.56 to reach his fifth final of the year.

Moments later, Pruett dispatched of championship leader Torrence with a 3.717 at 331.04 to Torrence’s 3.765 at 318.69. That win set up the decisvie championship duel between the two. Pruett added wins over Tony Schumacher and Antron Brown to reach her sixth final round of the season in her TSR-backed machine.

“With the semis and the top four cars still in it, you are just hoping for the best really,” Kalitta said. “Fortunately, we had lane choice the first three rounds, so that gives you a little bit of confidence with the lane. But both lanes were in great shape, so hats off to the Safety Safari and everybody for what they do here. This is one of the coolest places to run with the museum and just the history of the NHRA.”

And what a season it was for Kalitta.

After adding Alan Johnson to the team as crew chief at the beginning of the 2022 season, it took Kalitta 37 races and nearly two full seasons to record his first win with the legendary tuner. Kalitta spent much of the season hovering around the bottom half of the top 10 in points, sitting eighth in the championship entering the final race of the regular season at Indianapolis.

Those struggles left Kalitta wondering when -- or if -- he would get a win with his legendary crew chief.

“Throughout the year I’m thinking, ‘Man, I just have to get a win. If I get a win, that’ll take a lot of pressure off Alan as my crew chief,’” Kalitta said. “I mean, that would definitely not look good on your resume, having Alan for two years and not winning a race. But we are definitely picking up some momentum. I am really proud of him and Brian [Husen] and all of the guys on my car. We were digging hard all year. We had to work for it and, fortunately for the guys, they really pulled it together and we started going down the track and started making good runs and getting win lights.

“What a blessing having [Johnson] on my team. To be one of the guys that has won a championship with him as crew chief is what I have dreamt of and winning it with [uncle] Connie [Kalitta] here is extra special as well.”

Once the postseason began, Kalitta found an unexpected groove.

He earned his first win in nearly three years -- his 50th in the sport -- to open the Countdown to the Championship at the rain-delayed Pep Boys Nationals in Reading, Pennsylvania. One week later, Kalitta emerged victorious at the Carolina Nationals at zMAX Dragway. Those wins pushed him into the championship lead.

 

 

 

A trio of second-round defeats in St. Louis, Dallas and Las Vegas in the ensuing races dropped Kalitta to second in the standings, but Sunday’s incredible finish capped a three-win year -- all in the season’s last six races -- and an unexpected championship.

Ironically, both wins and the late flurry to end the season came after switching to a backup car midway through the Countdown-opening race at Maple Grove Raceway. During the final round of qualifying at that race, Kalitta’s right-rear tire exploded during the pass and damaged his Mac Tools Toyota. Following the incident, the team switched from their regular canopy-covered machine to an open-air backup that was nearly flawless after being deployed.

“Throughout the year we have struggled,” Kalitta said. “We changed a lot of stuff with our car and, after Reading when we blew that tire, for some reason our luck changed. After that our car was responding and everything seemed to be a lot happier with our tune-up.”

After the race, Kalitta reflected on just what this championship means for his legacy in the sport. And he was quick to point to another Top Fuel world champion carrying the Kalitta name -- his late cousin Scott -- and where this places him on the scorecard, both in the sport and inside his own family.

“This has definitely been on my things-to-do list, but my cousin Scott has won this thing a couple of times,” Kalitta said. “Growing up in his shadow, it was on my bucket list to get a top title. Now he’s still got one on me, but [to win one] is definitely a big relief.”